


Investigate (a perfect love)

by absolutelynot



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blow Jobs, Kingsman AU, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non-Graphic Violence, Rimming, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-04-11 21:42:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4453442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/absolutelynot/pseuds/absolutelynot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>This morning Louis was sending his sisters off to school like any other day, no plans other than drinking and watching footie with the lads. Hours later he’s been arrested, threatened, and has abandoned his family to join a secret spy organization.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>or</p><p>A Kingsman AU in which Harry is the Roxy to Louis' Eggsy and together they try to save the world from the evil Ben Winston.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from the song "The Investigation" by Sugarcult.
> 
> Many many thanks to my beta, Chloe-Ann! She's a life saver!
> 
> I've tried to stick as close to the story without it being a rip off. The characters and basic storyline will be the same as the movie, but I will be adding some things of my own and will be changing the plot as far as Valentine (aka Ben Winston) is concerned.  
> 
> This is a work of fiction based off the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. Characters/plot/etc belongs to Fox.

There were a lot of times that Louis wishes he had just been the bigger person and walked away from the situation instead of letting his anger get the best of him. As he sits in an interrogation room waiting to make his phone call, he realizes that this is one of those times.

It’s not completely his fault; those arseholes of Dan’s were provoking him again. He was just minding his own business, nursing a pint with the lads; he didn’t even start it. This time. Louis had tried to let it slide, but they took a jab at his mother, and he doesn’t let people get away with talking shit about his family.

So, he took Cal’s car for a little joy ride. No big deal. If the bloody cops hadn’t gotten involved in the first place he would have just given the car back, unharmed. He probably should have just pulled over as soon as he saw the cop, probably wouldn’t have crashed if he hadn’t instigated a car chase, but…what’s life without a little excitement, right?

He glances at the medal in his hand one more time, sighing as he picks up the phone and dials the number on the back. He doesn’t really need to look at it; he’s had the number memorized for as long as he can remember. He holds his breath, waiting as the ringing buzzes in his ear, grating into his eardrums.

The ringing stops, then a woman’s voice answers with a soft “Yes?”

Louis sits silently; suddenly unsure if this is the right course of action. Again, louder, more insistent, “Yes?”

Louis takes a deep breath, steadying himself, “Yeah, uh, this is Louis Tomlinson. My mum told me to call this number if I was ever in trouble and I’m…”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid you have the wrong number.”

“Wait! Wait…oxfords, not brogues.”

The line goes dead, no response uttered. Louis feels his anger return as he slams the phone back onto the receiver. He should have known that man who gave his mum the medal was full of shit. They always are. Sighing, he lowers his head into his hands and waits for the detective to return, resigned to spending the next 18 months in this hell hole.

Louis isn’t sure how much time passes, but it can’t be more than a few minutes before the detective is back, sliding his cell phone into his pocket as he enters the room.

“Well, Mr. Tomlinson, looks like you’re free to go. Don’t give me a reason to bring you back in here anytime soon lad.” The officer sighs, gesturing towards the open door.

Stunned, Louis doesn’t question it, doesn’t even glance back as he rushes towards the exit. He starts to run as soon as he gets out of the door, eager to get out of sight before they change their mind, tell him it was all a joke and throw his arse in a cell.

He takes a sharp corner to the right and skids to a stop at the sight of a man in a startlingly familiar suit, leaning against the buildings wall, staring right at him.

“Louis, there you are. Fancy a lift home?”

“Who the hell are you?” Louis responds, cautiously taking a few steps away from the man.

“The man who just got you released. A little gratitude would be nice.”

“What are you talking about? Why did you do that?”

“My name is James. James Corden. I gave you that medal a long time ago, after your father saved my life.”

Louis’ mouth drops open in shock. “Oh…um…thank you?”

James pushes himself off of the wall and begins walking towards the car park. “Don’t mention it. Fancy a drink?”

//////

Louis finds himself sitting in the pub for the second time in less than 24 hours, having a pint with the man his father apparently died trying to save. He’s probably going to need a third.

James has told him about his work as a tailor at the Kingsman shop on Regent Street, but Louis knows he must have been in the army if he worked with his father. James doesn’t seem to want to talk about that though, cutting Louis off with a “That’s classified” every time he asks a question.

“Look, Louis. I can’t tell you anything about the work I did with your father, but I can tell you he was very brave. I…I should have died that day. Several other people, too. Your father sacrificed himself in order to save us, he didn’t even think twice about it. I gave you that medal in the hopes that I could one day return the favor for his family. He was a truly great man.”

Louis smiles wistfully, about to respond.

“I’ve read your file, Louis. He would be quite disappointed in what you’ve done with your life.”

“Now wait a minute. You don’t know anything about me, you can’t talk to me like that!” Louis replies, his voice stone cold.

“You have a high IQ, you were doing great in school. Then you just let it all go to shit. Drugs, petty crime, no jobs.”

“Does it look like there are a lot of jobs around here?” Louis interjects, huffing and crossing his arms across his chest defensively.

“Well, why give up your hobbies? You were very promising in football from what I understand. Your coach had you pegged as Premiership material.” His voice concerned but scolding.

“Yeah, well. When you have someone like Dan as your step-dad, there’s not a lot of time for hobbies. Mum just keeps having babies and I’m the one that has to take care of them.”

“Oh right, of course. It’s always someone else’s fault.”

“Look. I’m sorry I wasn’t born with the same silver spoon up my arse as you were. You have no right to sit here and judge me, you have no idea why I’ve made the choices I have!”

Louis hears the front door of the pub swing open, the laughter floating through the air telling him exactly who just waltzed in. He sees the bartender shoot a sympathetic look his way before retreating to the back.

“’Ow the fook did you get out so quick, ya tosser?” Cal asks threateningly, stalking towards their table with his band of idiots behind him. Louis clenches his fist as he turns to retort, but James beats him to it.

“Gentlemen, as you can see, we are in the middle of a conversation. If you could please leave us be, you can attend to your business with Louis here at a later time.” James primly folds his hands over the handle of his umbrella as he speaks.

Louis groans and lowers his head to the table. “Now you’ve done it,” he whispers as he hears the boys start cackling.

“’Ow about you get the fook out, old man” Cal responds, cracking his knuckles right in James’ face, Louis assumes in an attempt to be intimidating.

James lets his eyes roam over the group before he calmly takes a small sip of his beer and sets it back on the table. Silently, he stands up and makes towards the door.

Oh, just fucking great.Louis thinks as he watches him walk away. Get me out of jail just to leave me to get my arse kicked. Great help, thanks.

He gets ready to stand up and face his fate when he notices James isn’t actually leaving, he’s closing the front door and locking it, trapping them all in the pub. As he does so, he states, just loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Manners maketh man.”

Louis cocks his head, confused, watching as James finishes locking the door.

“Let me teach you a lesson” Louis barely has time to blink before James has hooked the handle of his umbrella around a beer mug and sends it flying backwards towards Cal. The mug hits its target square in the temple, knocking him to the ground. James finally turns around, facing the rest of the lads crowded behind him. “Are we going to stand around all day, or are we going to fight?”

Louis watches in awe as James quickly makes work of the entire group. He clearly knows his way around a fight, evading punches calmly while continuing to take out others. Louis swears he even sees something fly out of his umbrella at some point.

While James is scrapping with the last man standing, Louis notices Cal move slightly on the ground, raising his arm with a gun pointed at James.

“JAMES! LOOK OUT!” Louis screams. James turns towards Cal and opens his umbrella, the bullets ricocheting off of the cloth. Yeah, that is definitely no ordinary umbrella.

Again, something shoots out of the umbrella, a dart that embeds itself in Cal’s neck. He falls to the ground, this time seemingly unconscious. James surveys the damage and then walks back to the table, lifting his beer and finishing it in one gulp.

“Sorry about that, needed to let off a little steam.” James sighs. He starts to lift an arm in Louis’ direction, but seems to think better of it. “Can I trust you not to tell anyone what you’ve just seen, Louis?”

“Of course, yeah. I swear on my life, I won’t tell a soul.” Louis meets his eyes, unflinching.

Nodding, James heads back towards the door, this time actually to leave. “Come see me anytime if you need me, Louis. Any time.” And with that, he’s gone.

//////

Louis walks into the flat, dazed, wondering- not for the first time- who the hell James Corden really is. He barely notices the screaming coming from the kitchen, but he comes to his senses right as a fist comes swinging towards his face.

“What the fuck, Dan!” Louis screams as the second punch connects with his jaw. His mum comes running out of the kitchen, throws herself between Dan and Louis.

“Dan, stop, please. It was a bloody car, this is ridiculous!” She shouts. Dan grabs her and shoves her aside roughly, and Louis feels his face heat in anger. Emboldened, he throws all his weight at Dan, pinning him against the wall.

“Do not touch her. Do you hear me?” Louis screams in his face. Dan just laughs, pushes Louis away and pulls the gun from his back pocket, pointing it directly between Louis’ eyes.

 

“I’ve had enough of your shit boy. I want you out of my house.” Louis glances at his mum; she is looking up at him with watery eyes, but she makes no protest.

“Where are the girls?” He asks her quietly.

“Don’t worry about them, Louis, _please._ Just do what he says.” She whispers, dropping her eyes to the ground.

Numb, he looks back at Dan; the gun has not wavered and Dan’s eyes are cold. Louis knows he shouldn’t test him. Without a word, he leaves the house and doesn’t look back.

//////

After wandering around the streets of London for what feels like hours, Louis finds himself in front of the door for Kingsman, James’ tailor shop. Looking in, he sees James sitting on a plush leather sofa, staring back at him through the window, and he immediately knows that James has been waiting for him.

“I’ve never met a tailor before,” Louis says as he steps through the door, “but I know you aren’t one.”

James studies him for a moment, finishing the drink in his hand. Swallowing, he stands and motions for Louis to follow him towards the back. He leads him into a fitting room and stops in front of the full length mirror.

Pushing Louis slightly ahead of him towards the mirror, James begins to speak.

“I don’t know what you see when you look in the mirror, Louis, but what I see is a young man with a whole lot of potential. Stubborn, but loyal. Someone who, deep down, wants to do something good with his life. Is that you, Louis?”

“I guess. Yeah, I mean, it could be?” Louis looks back at James, confused. “What’s going on, James?”

“Just because the lack of a silver spoon set you on one path, doesn’t mean you have to stay on it. I’m offering you the chance to become a Kingsman.”

“What? A tailor? I’m rubbish at sewing, mate.” Louis scoffs.

“No, a Kingsman agent.”

Louis’ mouth drops open but no sound comes out. Clearing his throat he tries again.

“Sorry, like…a spy?”

James smiles wryly. “Something like that. Are you interested?”

Louis takes a moment and looks at himself in the mirror, really looks. He takes in the bags under his eyes, the holes in his jeans, the dirt on his shoes. He looks himself in the eyes and wonders if he’s really cut out for something like this.

Looking back at James, he smirks and responds, “Yeah. Might as well.”

James reaches to his left and pulls on one of the coat hangers on the wall. Louis grabs on to James to steady himself as the floor starts to lower with a jerk.

“Well, let’s start at the beginning, shall we? Kingsman tailor shop was established in 1849. It grew quickly and began to cloth some of the world’s most powerful individuals. Unfortunately, by 1919, most of those individuals had lost their children in World War I, leaving a lot of money un-inherited…a lot of powerful men left with the desire to preserve the peace and protect lives. Our founders realized that they could channel that wealth and influence for the greater good. So, they began the underground Kingsman. An independent intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, without the politics and bureaucracy that undermine the integrity of government run spy organizations. A suit is a modern gentleman’s armor…the Kingsman agents are the new knights.”

Timed to perfection, James finishes his speech and the brick walls around them give way to a small room, modeled like an underground. At the end of the room stands a shuttle. As he straps himself into his seat, Louis wonders what he’s gotten himself in to.

//////

Louis loses track of time on the journey, he has no idea where they are, what direction they are going. In the silence, his thoughts drift to the dingy flat he left behind. He tries not to let the guilt of leaving his sisters behind drown him, thinks that he’ll go back for them as soon as he’s made something of himself. He will get them out of there.

James calls his name softly, alerting him to the fact that the shuttle has stopped. Louis follows him silently, moving through hallways that show Louis glimpses of the scale of operations the Kingsman have. The first window he passes shows him a hangar full of airplanes and antique automobiles, the sheer size of the room makes him gasp. James just throws a small smile back in his direction and continues on.

Eventually, they come upon another man, dressed just as sharply as James. James greets him as Nick and apologizes for being late.

“Nothing I’m not used to,” Nick responds. Looking at Louis he points to the door he is standing outside of. “Well, in you go, lad.”

Louis knows as soon as he sees the other recruits that he doesn’t fit it with them. He can tell by the perfectly tailored jackets and the neatly styled quiffs, the perfect posture and haughty looks on their faces. The boys are all in blazers and ties, the girls in pencil skirts and knee high boots, hair pulled back in tight ponytails. He becomes acutely aware of how he must look to them in his snapback, tee, and jeans when he walks through the door and they all go silent and look him over.

He does a double take when he notices the lone boy sitting on a bed to his right, bright green eyes staring at Louis curiously. He is long and slender, but Louis has a feeling he is stronger than he looks. His long hair is pulled back in a loose bun, showing off his features, which Louis must admit are stunning. He is not dressed like the rest of them, in tight black jeans and a flowing white tee, but Louis can tell he is one of them just based on the practiced way he holds himself, his hands folded carefully in his lap.

Louis stares right back at him, raising an eyebrow. The boy smirks in response, stands up and walks over.

“I’m Harry” he states simply, extending a hand to Louis. Louis narrows his eyes as he accepts it, refusing to let his guard down.

“Louis.” Harry is opening his mouth to respond again when Nick enters the room, commanding them all to fall in line before the door has even closed behind him. Louis follows Harry to the group at the back of the room and stands with his hands clasped behind his back like the rest of them.

“Well, now that everyone’s here, we can get started. My name is Nick. I will be evaluating you all over the next few weeks, during what is probably the most dangerous job interview in the world. At the end, _one_ of you will become a Kingsman. A body bag has been placed on each of your bunks. Tonight, I need you to write your name and your next of kin on your bag. This is your way of acknowledging the risks you are about to take, as well as your agreement to strict confidentiality. Everyone understand? Great, fall out. See you in the morning.” Nick turns and leaves just as quickly as he entered.

Louis walks to the only empty bed left, which coincidentally is next to Harry’s. He picks up the body bag, eyeing it warily as Harry hands him an extra marker to seal his fate.

“It’s just a scare tactic. I’m sure nobody’s actually going to die.” Harry smiles at him and Louis finds his eyes drawn to the dimples dug deep into Harry’s cheeks. His own smile falters when one of the other recruits comes up behind him.

“Where’d they dig you up from, then?” The boy asks, hands on his hips. Louis would take offense, but the boy’s tone indicates that he didn’t mean any. He stands just slightly taller than Louis, a friendly smile on his face.

“Liam, you know we’re not allowed to discuss anything about our lives outside of here.” Harry interjects, coming to stand beside Louis.

“No need to get toutchy, he’s just trying to make conversation,” The sole Irish boy in the group states as he comes to flank Liam, throwing his arm over Liam’s shoulders and smiling at Louis. His bleached blonde hair is styled perfectly atop his head, blue eyes shining with mirth. Louis doesn’t think he’s seen this kid without a smile since he got here.

“I’m Niall,” he states, “This here is Liam and that’s Zayn.” he points to yet another boy heading in their direction. He is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. His dark skin is accented by his dark hair and beard. He rivals Harry in the tall and lean department, and Louis notices the tattoos peeking out of his collar. Louis’ pretty sure he’s wasting his talents trying to be a spy, he should be a model.

“And you are…?” Zayn asks when he reaches the group.

“Oh, Louis. I’m Louis,” Louis holds his hand out to shake, pleasantly surprised when all three boys shake his hand enthusiastically.

Louis doesn’t have as much trouble keeping track of all the recruits as he thought he would. The two girls of the group, Eleanor and Sophia he learns, are fairly standoffish and seem content to keep to themselves. There are also two other boys who introduce themselves to Louis but then disappear back to their respective corners quickly, Ed and Zach. Then there are Zayn, Liam, Niall, and Harry, who are friendlier towards him than even his friends back home have ever been. Louis may not fit in with them based on class alone, but they don’t seem to care. He thinks this might not be so bad after all.

A five minute warning to lights out is called over an intercom shortly after Nick leaves them. Louis glances around the room and finds everyone scrambling to obey, several have already settled in to bed and the others are at the sink, brushing teeth and washing faces.

Louis rushes through his own routine before collapsing on to his bed, exhausted from the longest day of his life. As much as he wants to sleep, his mind just won’t slow down, trying to grasp everything that has happened to him.

“Hey, Louis, are you awake?” He hears Harry whisper to him and rolls to face him.

“No. Fast asleep. Leave me alone.” Louis whispers back, smiling to himself.

“Liar. I can’t fall asleep, tell me a story.”

“You’re ridiculous. Do I look like a story teller to you?”

“Obviously, or I wouldn’t have asked.” Louis can hear the smile in his voice. He squints his eyes, trying to make out his features in the dark. He must stay silent too long because Harry asks him again.

“C’mon, Lou, please?” The tone of Harry’s voice shakes Louis out of his reverie, hitting too close to home, reminding him of the way his sisters always beg him for bedtime stories.

“I don’t have any bloody stories, Harry. Go to sleep.” He huffs out as he rolls back over, staring up at the ceiling. He squeezes his eyes shut when he hears Harry sigh heavily and shift in his own bed.

How in the hell is this his life now? This morning he was sending his sisters off to school like any other day, no plans other than drinking and watching footie with the lads. Hours later he’s been arrested, threatened, and has abandoned his family to join a secret spy organization. This has to be a dream.

Lost in his thoughts, he doesn’t even notice when water covers the floor of the barracks and starts to quickly rise.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here!
> 
> Thank you again to Chloe-Ann for hand holding me through this process! So glad to have your help!

Louis’ not sure he’s ever felt this horrible in his life. As many mistakes as he’s made, as much trouble as he’s gotten in to, he’s never actually been responsible for someone’s death.

The water had been almost level with the beds by the time he had noticed it. As it continued to rise, he called out, waking the others. It was chaos for a few long minutes, everyone frantically trying to find an immediate solution, trying not to let the panic take hold. Louis soon found himself alone with Harry at their beds, trying to stay afloat as the water picked them up off their feet. His search for the other recruits showed him that they were all over by the showers, pulling at hoses.

Confused, he swam to the door, tried to open it in vain several times. Harry had grabbed his arm, was saying something to him about getting to the air in the toilets, but Louis’ brain was buzzing with fear. He didn’t understand what was happening.

The water was rising so quickly. In no time at all, the water had reached the ceiling, forcing them to gasp for air and sink below the surface. Harry gestured for him to follow him, eyes wild. He swam behind Harry to the other side of the room, noticed all the other recruits had shoved hoses from the shower through the toilets into the pipes, using them to breathe. There were no more hoses; his lungs were starting to burn already.

He glanced around the room again helplessly, desperate for a solution. Looking back at Harry, he noticed the large mirror behind him. Praying he was right, Louis swam straight to the mirror and began to kick at it with all the force he could muster in the water. After several attempts, he had felt it start to crack slightly under his foot.

Thankfully, he had been right. The mirror was a two-way window, leading in to another room. The mirror had smashed and the rush of water drug Louis, and everyone else, through the wall, dropping them at the feet of Nick. He had stood there watching all of them gasping for breath, a clipboard tucked in his arms as always, seemingly unimpressed.

“Well, I’m not entirely disappointed. Liam, that was a good idea, getting the air out of the pipes. Louis, you seem to be the only one who even considered finding an exit. However, I saw absolutely no teamwork whatsoever. That seems to have cost us a recruit.” Nick nodded his head back towards the room, directing everyone’s attention to it, to the lifeless body on the floor in the middle of the barracks that they had all left behind. Glancing around, Louis realized it was Eleanor.

Sophia had burst into tears immediately, barely comforted by the shoulder Liam lent her to cry into. They had all followed along behind Nick in silence as they were led to new barracks and given dry clothes.

He had no idea what time it was, but he knew no one was getting any more sleep tonight. The loss of Eleanor so early on, the loss of life, seems to have forced them all to accept that they will need to rely on each other. They will need each others support if anyone is going to make it through this.

They all huddled together in a corner with their blankets and pillows, talking to fill the silence. Louis mostly stays silent, collecting as much information about the others as he can without sharing too much about himself. He may have to support them, but he’s certainly not ready to trust them.

Sophia hasn’t said much, she seems to be the most distraught. It turns out she and Eleanor were friends before even being recruited. Actually, Louis seems to be the only one in the group who didn’t know someone prior to coming here.

Liam, Zayn, and Niall were all running in the same circles at Cambridge when they were recruited. Ed and Zach worked for the same marketing company in London. Harry actually grew up with Liam in Cheshire for a short time before Liam’s family moved away. Louis doesn’t think all of these connections are a coincidence, and he’s not sure what that says about his place here.

The thing is, he doesn’t feel out of place. For once in his life, even though he’s surrounded by strangers, no one is treating him like he doesn’t belong. It’s obvious that he doesn’t come from the same walk of life as the rest of them, but they aren’t treating him any different, at least not to his face. He’s spent his whole life despising people like them, but he may have to reserve judgment for this group. They may actually be alright.

They all settle down as the night drags on, but no one sleeps. Louis knows they all fear what he does, fears what they will see in their dreams after the events of today, what other tragedy could possibly unfold while they sleep. He knows he can’t change the past, he’s learned that lesson all too well, but he vows to pay more attention to what is happening from now on and make sure no one else becomes a casualty of his carelessness.

One by one, they all give in to the pull of exhaustion. Louis continues to fight it, has enough experience with avoiding the demons of the night. He keeps his heavy lidded eyes on his fellow recruits while they drift off, determined to be alert should another test present itself before morning. He feels Harry stir where he is lying beside him.

“You need to get some sleep, Lou” Harry mutters, his breath fanning out across Louis’ arm, making him shiver. Louis smiles softly at the nickname, responds in a whisper.

“I’ll be alright, Curly. I’ll keep an eye on things.” Louis responds, turning his head to gaze down at Harry. His sleepy smile radiates back up at him as his eyes drift shut, and Louis tells himself to ignore the way his heart thumps in response.

//////

Louis wakes with a jolt some time later, looking around in a panic to make sure everyone is still there. The recruits are all accounted for, and sometime during the night Harry latched on to him like a koala.

Louis feels the prickle of being watched and glances towards the door, finds Nick staring at him, his eyes roving over where he and Harry are entwined. Nick must feel himself being watched as well, quickly glances up and meets Louis’ eyes. He motions for Louis to follow him and exits the room.

Louis gently disentangles himself from Harry and goes after him. Nick leads him silently until he stops outside of a door, his hand on the handle.

“I don’t want you to panic, Louis. He’s probably going to be fine.”

“Who is? What’s going on?”

“James. There’s been…an incident. He’s in a coma.” Nick has barely finished his sentence before Louis is pushing through the door, bringing himself face to face with a battered and bruised James, helpless and unconscious in a makeshift hospital bed.

“What the hell happened to him?” Louis questions as he drops to the chair next to the bed. Nick sighs and when Louis glances at him he looks like a real person, sad and tired and weighed down just like the rest of them…not the emotionless spy behind a clipboard that he’s shown so far.

“Had you heard about the disappearances lately? There were several already by the time you got here.”

“You mean those royals that went missing?” Louis looks over at him, confused as to what that has to do with James.

“Yes. Seems they weren’t isolated incidents like everyone thought. About a dozen more members of royal families across the world have gone missing, as well as several country leaders. Someone is obviously targeting politicians and royalty. The Kingsmen were asked to get involved to help keep the British monarchy safe. That’s actually why we’re testing new recruits, we lost a member…she was my best mate. We lost her on a rescue mission a couple of weeks ago.”

“I’m sorry. So…James was on another rescue mission?”

“Not exactly,” Nick stands and walks over to a computer, typing something in and motioning for Louis to join him. “This is Ben Winston. You may have heard of him, he’s pretty well known. Big movie producer, his family has been very wealthy and very famous for decades.”

Nick waits for Louis to nod to continue. “He’s been seen with a couple of the people right before they went missing over the last few months. He’s been hosting huge parties at his estate outside of London; he normally has several important dignitaries and politicians at each one. At least one of them seems to go missing after each party…he’s now the prime suspect. ”

“What does this guy have to gain from kidnapping politicians and royalty, though? He clearly doesn’t need any ransom money.”

“That’s what we don’t know. Even weirder, the prince of Genovia just showed back up at a casino in Monte Carlo the other day, after he’d been missing for weeks. That’s where James was, he went to an event to chat with the prince, see if he could get any information on where he’d been…if he’d actually been kidnapped, what he’d seen. The prince called his security team in as soon as James started asking questions…from what we could gather from our feed, James had to set off a grenade to get out of the situation alive, only he didn’t quite get out of the blast radius in time.”

Before Louis can respond, Nick is shutting down the computer and ushering Louis towards the door. “Listen. I don’t want you or any of the recruits involved in this. I shouldn’t have even told you this much. We’ve got it under control for now, I just…I know how important you already are to James, so I wanted you to know about him. I promise I’ll keep you updated on his condition. For now, just focus on your training.”

//////

Nick leads Louis through a maze of hallways that he thinks he’ll never be able to navigate on his own and this time they end up outside. Louis whistles, impressed, as they make their way out on to the sprawling back lawn. Turns out their headquarters are located on a massive country estate.

The other recruits are already outside, gathered around several other men and women around Nick’s age. Louis assumes they are the other mentors. As he gets closer to the group, he notices that everyone still looks downtrodden, their faces sad, shoulders sagging.

“What’s wrong, lads? Miss me that much already?” Louis calls out as he gets closer.

“Louis! You’re okay!” Harry chokes out, features brightening when he sees him. Louis glances around at the other recruits; they all look as relieved to see him as Harry does.

“What the hell did you think…” Louis starts, before he remembers the events of last night and how his first instinct upon waking this morning was to check to make sure everyone was still there. He knows what they all must have thought finding him missing for so long. “Shit, I’m sorry. Nick needed me for something, I didn’t even think…”

“It’s okay. I’m glad you’re okay.” Harry replies, reaching out and clasping Louis’ arm tightly, eyes darting across Louis’ face. “Just wake me up next time, yeah?” He adds quietly. Louis nods, his response cut off as Nick calls them over to fall into line.

Training starts off simple enough. They spend the first part of the day at the armory, learning how to quickly assemble and disassemble their guns, proper care and cleaning of the weapons, and finally target practice. Louis is pleased to learn he’s not the worst shot of the group…unsurprisingly, that honor lies with Harry.

After a brief break for lunch in the mess hall, Nick supervises as the other mentors teach them basic sparring skills, evading movements and disarming techniques.

Since he doesn’t have James, Louis has been teamed up with Niall and his mentor, another Irish bloke named Rory. He’s noticing a trend with the Kingsmen; not a single one that he has met yet has looked even slightly intimidating, but they are all proving him wrong.

Even Niall, who until now Louis thought was about as tough as a kitten, seems to flip a switch and turn in to the bloody Terminator. Within minutes, Louis finds himself short of breath and dripping sweat, trying to avoid Niall’s fists that are flying with the force and speed of a professional boxer (Louis knows; he caught the first fist to his jaw.)

They keep the sparring up for hours. “You must learn to keep fighting even when you think you have nothing left,” Nick had said. He wasn’t kidding. Everyone is exhausted. He and Niall keep slipping up, making mistakes and Rory just pushes them twice as hard to make up for it.

He hears a loud, pained cry from Harry and instinctively turns to find him, see if he needs help. Harry is sitting on the ground, cradling his left arm gingerly. Liam must have dislocated it; Nick is already reaching down to pop it back in place.

Before he has a chance to call out and make sure Harry is okay, Niall’s fist collides with his abdomen, knocking him to the ground as well. Gasping for breath, he looks towards Niall and finds him smirking at him, eyes twinkling.

“Sorry mate, I had to. Rory told me to.”

“What the fuck, Rory?” Louis groans as he sits up. Rory just points a stare at him, unamused. “You become vulnerable when you revealed your weaknesses, Louis. I simply told Niall to show you what happens. You’re lucky it wasn’t Zayn, he might have killed you.” Louis looks over to where Zayn and his mentor Paul have been sparring, notices the many cuts and bruises already forming on Paul’s face. Maybe not a model, then.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t reveal any weakness.” Louis stands up, shakes it off.

Rory and Niall both look at him pointedly, before looking over at Harry, still seated on the ground. Louis tenses up, face hard as he turns back to them.

“Like I said, I didn’t reveal any weakness. Let’s go.” Louis huffs and he lunges at Niall, invigorated with the need to show his strength.

//////

“I think even my teeth hurt” Louis complains, falling face first on to his bed back in the barracks after dinner. He hears several groans of assent and the creaking of old springs as his everyone else follows suit.

“That was fucking brutal, mate” He hears Niall whine from somewhere at his feet. “I don’t know what got into you, but I think I have some internal bleeding somewhere.”

“Sod off, Nialler. You gave as good as you got. I’ve got bruises in places I didn’t know could bruise.” Louis retorts.

“Pure torture,” Harry agrees. “I thought we were training to be spies, not soldiers.”

Louis thinks he hears Liam mutter something about medieval training practices from his side of the room, but the intercom interrupts.

Nick’s voice informs them all to change into the outfits hanging by all of their beds then fall in line and await further instructions.

“Are you kidding me!?” Zayn sounds as exasperated as he feels. “How are we not even done yet? What more do they want us to do today?”

They all slowly shuffle around, changing in to the army fatigues that have been placed in the clothing bags by their beds.

“Looks like we are training to be soldiers, Styles,” Louis comments as they walk over and fall in line with everyone else.

“Don’t joke about that. I definitely did not sign up for that!” Sophia whispers from behind him. Louis hears Zach start to say something to her, trying to calm her, but they all go quiet as some sort of gas starts to pour in to the room from the ceiling.

“Oh, come on!” someone cries from behind Louis. It’s the last thing Louis hears before everything goes black.

//////

Louis’ brain is foggy when he wakes to someone shaking him and whispering his name.

“Five more minutes,” He groans and tries to roll over, but the grip on his arm only tightens.

“Louis, get the fuck up!” Harry’s voice is louder, panicked. Confused, Louis opens his eyes and glances up at Harry, who looks even more upset than he sounds. The trees are swaying eerily behind him. Wait…trees?

Shocked, Louis sits up quickly, taking in their surroundings. He and Harry are alone, apparently in a bloody forest. He is surrounded only by trees as far as he can see. Sitting off to their side are two backpacks, and Harry has a white knuckled grasp on a single piece of paper.

“Do I even want to know what that says?” Louis asks, reaching for the paper with shaky hands.

“Depends on how much you like being outdoors,” Harry replies, sighing as he hands him the paper and sits down beside him.

_This marks the beginning of your survival skills test._

_We have split you into teams of two and placed you in different locations, each approximately 200 miles from headquarters._

_You will have exactly four days to make it back to the estate. Any team that does not make it back in this time will be sent home. If all teams return, the last team to arrive will be sent home._

_We have provided each of you with the basics you will need: waterproof bags, rain suits, compass, hunting knife, and string. In case of a dire emergency, we have also provided you with a radio transmitter to contact us at HQ. Should you decide to use this, you will be immediately terminated from the training program and sent back home._

Handwritten at the bottom of the paper is their last bit of advice. _Louis/Harry: You are located southeast of the complex._

“Well this is bloody fantastic,” Louis groans, dropping on to his back.

“At least they let us change into proper clothes before they gassed us and dropped us in the wilderness,” Harry tries to smile down at him, but Louis can tell how nervous he is from the way his lips quiver.

“Harry, I’ve never even been hiking in my life. What clothes I’m wearing is not going to help me in this situation. I don’t think I have anything to offer here.” He gingerly avoided Harry’s gaze by looking toward the ground, not willing to show his weakness.

“It’s two in the morning, let’s just…let’s just get some sleep and come up with a plan in the morning.” Harry says softly, exhaustion tinting his voice as he tries to get comfortable on the ground beside him.

As the wind picks up and starts to howl around him, Louis wonders, again, what the hell he’s gotten himself in to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're all liking it so far! I'll be out of town this week so it will probably be two weeks before the next chapter is posted!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!!! Here is Chapter 3! 
> 
> This chapter does not follow along with the movie. I have added this as kind of a filler chapter to have Harry and Louis spend more time together before I get back in to the actual movie plot.
> 
> Thank you again to Chloe-Ann for hand holding me through this process and sticking with me even when I'm so far behind! So glad to have your help!

Louis doesn’t remember ever being out in the woods before. He’s never even been out of the city limits, never been camping. He doesn’t even spend much time in the parks.

He can vaguely recall a memory of a family picnic in Hyde Park when his sisters were little. The details evade him, but he still gets glimpses of the day; the girls strolling along the Serpentine with their mother, all of them napping on the lawn after finishing their meal. It was before the twins were born, just him, Lottie and Fizz, before Dan even came into the picture, everyone was happy.

That’s the last family outing they ever had, and the extent of his experience with nature. He’s certainly never been out in the wild like this before. He’s not really even sure how “in the wild” they are, for all he knows, they could be in the middle of Richmond Park.

It certainly feels wild though; the wind never stops howling at him through the gaps between the trees, the only sound he’s heard other than the crunching of the ground under their feet and the occasional bird singing its life story from high above their heads.

It’s their second day on this bloody hike to nowhere, and they haven’t spoken to each other much. He likes Harry well enough, but they’ve both been in a poor mood since waking up in the woods, and Harry seems to be determined to cover the 200 miles in world record time.

Harry barely stopped for breaks yesterday, and after only a few hours of sleep last night, he was waking Louis up to start again.

“I quit. I bloody quit.” Louis groans when he sees another incline looming ahead of them and throws his pack to the ground, sitting down and dropping his head to his hands.

He hears Harry sigh and walk back towards him. “You can’t quit, Louis, we still have some daylight left. We have a lot of ground to cover; we need to at least keep going until we can’t see to.”

Louis can quit if he damn well feels like it. They got up with the sun the past two days. He’s been stumbling through the woods for at least ten hours now, trying to keep up with Harry and tripping over what seems like every rock and root in the United Kingdom. Louis thought his body had been through the ringer yesterday…today was worse.

“I said I quit, Harry.” He replies, glaring up at him. “I literally can’t move any more today. I’ll die.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, you’re not going to die from walking through the damn woods.” Harry shoves a hand through his hair, shaking out his sweat soaked curls. He drops down beside Louis and pulls out the map.

“This isn’t a leisurely stroll through the park, mate. You’ve been practically running through these trees for two days. I’m surprised I’ve kept up this long. I told you I’ve never done this outdoorsy shit before. I _can’t_ do it.” Louis drops his head to his hands again, pressing on his eyes to keep the tears of frustration at bay.

_Never let them see you cry._

“We can slow down but we _have_ to keep going, Louis. We’ve got to get some more miles in if we’re going to make it back in time.” Harry’s voice is gentle but still firm. He’s not going to let Louis off the hook.

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think we _are_ going to make it. I don’t think I can physically handle three more days of this.”

“Don’t think like that, Lou. It’ll get better. I’m sure each day will get easier, we just…I guess we just have to get used to it. Push through the pain, and all that crap they were spouting at training.”

Louis looks at Harry, un-amused. “Really? It’ll get better? That’s all you’ve got?” Harry just shoots his signature lopsided smile back at him, the tension effectively broken for now. Standing up, Harry reaches a hand down to help Louis up.

“Come on. If you can make it two more miles today I’ll buy you a massage when we get back to London.”

Louis narrows his eyes at him briefly before grabbing his hand and letting himself get hauled to his feet.

“For two more miles, you better be giving me a massage _tonight_ , Styles.” Louis calls over his shoulder, already grabbing his bag and heading off in the direction he hopes is correct. “And we are slowing the fuck down!”

//////

The next day goes much like the last. Louis gave Harry _more_ than the requested two miles (although he never got a massage) before they quit for the night. His body seems to have recovered well enough after the rest, although Louis suspects that probably won’t be the case once he actually has to start hiking again. He also knows that the following days are going to test him in more than just his physical fitness.

In addition to the supplies their directions had informed them they would find, their bags also contained a small flask filled with water and several bags of your standard issue trail mix. They had survived the first couple days just fine on the rations, but they’ll both definitely be out of water by the end of the day, and the trail mix won’t sustain them for much longer either. Louis’ isn’t looking forward to having to search for a source of water, and he definitely is not going to kill something to eat. He’d rather starve, thanks.

Harry wakes Louis with the sun again, although he does seem to have slowed his pace a bit from the previous day, which Louis is silently thankful for. They still carry on mostly in silence, the terrain too strenuous for small talk even though their moods are substantially better than they had been.

Harry stops more often than yesterday as well, although Louis notices he barely touches his water or food during the breaks. By the time they stop for the evening, he actually seems to be more drained than Louis.

“Did you even drink anything today, Harry?” Louis asks tentatively, watching as Harry tries to catch his breath before they set up for the night. They’ve been lucky with the weather so far, the air has been warm enough through the night that their lack of shelter has not been an issue.

“I had a sip around mid-day, I think.”

“A sip? Is that all you’ve had? Harry, you’ve got to drink some more, you’re probably dehydrated!” Louis reaches for Harry’s bag to get his flask, but Harry’s hand closes around his wrist to stop him.

“I need to ration it, Lou. I don’t…I have no clue how to go about finding water out here. I need it to last as long as possible. Especially once we’re out of food.” Harry’s eyes are filled with distress.

Louis realizes with a jolt that he hadn’t even been worrying about how this was affecting Harry. Harry had taken charge from the start, seemed to know immediately that Louis would be even less helpful in this situation. Louis just let him, followed along willingly. He assumed Harry knew what he was doing, but in reality it seems he is just as lost as Louis.

“Well, I need _you_ to last as long as possible, Harry. You need to stay hydrated. We’ll just have to figure something out when the time comes, yeah?” Louis gently pries his arm out of Harry’s grasp and retrieves his water from the bag.

Sighing in defeat, Harry finally gives his body some of the hydration it needs, while Louis wracks his brain for a plan that will get them out of this. Harry has taken care of him this far; it’s time he repays the favor. He knows this isn’t really a life or death situation, they won’t die out here when they have a radio to save them from that very thing. Harry clearly doesn’t want this to be the thing that sends him home though, and if Louis any say in it, it won’t be.

//////

They are only a few hours into the next day when they run out of food and water as they feared. Louis knows he should have been tipped off that this day would suck when they woke shivering in the morning, the temperature having dropped drastically overnight.

While their actual hike is relatively uneventful, they end up wasting over an hour trying to find a creek or some source of water to refill their flasks, unsuccessfully. Harry goes silent after that, his mood deteriorating by the minute.

They spent the next several hours trudging along grumpily. Louis knows the thoughts running through his head are the same in Harry’s; the dread of getting eliminated the next day when they don’t make it back to the estate on time, knowing they’d strayed just slightly too far from their path for a failed attempt at finding the most basic thing their bodies needed.

When a storm rolls through in the late afternoon, Louis’ thanks whichever deity he unknowingly made a sacrifice to for the help. Although the weather slows them down again, the access to water lifts their moods a bit.

They stop a little earlier than normal that night, Harry claiming he was just too exhausted to trudge on, but Louis suspects he simply feels like it’s a lost cause, just unwilling to admit it.

As Louis is setting up his makeshift bed for the evening, Harry finally speaks.

“I think we should probably huddle a little closer together tonight. It’s much colder than it’s been the past few nights.” Harry clears his throat when Louis glances up and catches his eyes, a slight embarrassed flush tinting his cheeks.

“I think that’s a good idea, Curly. Let’s have a cuddle, then.” Louis smiles at him as they move their stuff closer together and settle down, their bodies touching from shoulder to foot.

They lay next to each other silently for what feels like hours. Louis wants so badly for these awkward moods to disappear. They were so in sync the first few days at the estate, so comfortable with each other. As he lays there trying to think of something to say to lighten the mood, Harry beats him to it.

“Roll over, Louis.” Harry says suddenly, sitting up on his knees.

“What? Why?” Louis narrows his eyes suspiciously.

“I owe you a massage! Might as well do it now, clearly neither of us can sleep.”

“Oh…Harry, that was a joke. You don’t have to do that.” Louis starts to lay back down but Harry insists.

“No, I promised! I always keep my word. Plus, maybe it will help us get to sleep. I don’t think lying around with our bad moods is getting us anywhere.”

“Fine, just…no funny business, Styles.” Louis smirks at him as he rolls over to his stomach, folding his hands under his chin. He hears Harry laugh softly in response. 

“Scouts honor.” 

Louis senses Harry’s presence hovering over him briefly before he feels Harry straddle his legs, bracketing his body with his knees. He holds himself upright, though, does not let any part of his body touch Louis’ other than his hands. Louis’ not sure if he’s thankful for that or not.

The massage does actually relax him more quickly than he expected. Harry is really quite good with his hands. He is only able to stay silent for so long, not able to help the quiet groans that escape him when Harry really starts digging in with his thumbs, expertly working out the tension in Louis’ shoulders.

He can hear the smug smirk in his voice when Harry speaks.

“Guess I’m doing an alright job, then?”

“Yeah, yeah, Curly. I have a feeling you knew you were good at this.” 

“May have gotten a compliment or two before.”

They carry on in silence a few more minutes before the dam breaks. Later, Louis will realize he honestly saw this coming the second he laid eyes on Harry Styles.

“Hey Lou, do you mind if I just, like, rest on your legs or something? My thighs are starting to hurt.” 

“S’fine” Louis mumbles, his brain not quite functioning as he focuses on the feeling of Harry’s working the knots out of his muscles. 

His brain kicks back into high gear when Harry lowers himself to his legs, his body tensing back up immediately as he feels the unmistakable hardness pressing into his thigh. Harry’s hands freeze when he feels the tension return to Louis’ body.

“Harry, that feels an awful lot like funny business to me.” Louis tries to joke, gives Harry an opportunity to laugh his way out of it. Harry doesn’t take the out.

“Shit, I’m sorry, I just…I can’t help it with those noises you’re making, Lou.” He feels Harry roll off of him, settling at his side. “Doesn’t help that I’ve wanted you from the moment you walked in the bloody door either.” 

Louis jerks his head up at that, stares at Harry incredulously. 

“What?” Harry just shrugs his shoulders, smiles down at him ruefully. 

“It’s the truth. Just…might as well tell you since we’ll probably never see each other again after tomorrow.” 

Louis sits up and just stares at Harry, searches his eyes while racking his brain for the right thing to say. Yes, if they get eliminated tomorrow they probably won’t see each other again, they’ll both go back to their old lives, opposite ends of the hierarchy from each other, their time here eventually becoming a distant memory.

What if they don’t, though? What if somehow they get through this test and have to continue spending every waking moment with each other? Louis’ certainly attracted to Harry as well, can he resist that now knowing that Harry wants him too? Nope, definitely can’t.

“Fuck it” Louis surges forward and grips Harry behind his neck, pulling him forward to meet him halfway. 

Harry’s lips are chapped but still the softest Louis has ever felt, immediately moving against Louis’. He feels one of Harry’s hands grip his waist as Harry nips on his lower lip, pushing in his tongue when Louis’ mouth opens on a gasp. 

They stay silent when they break to catch their breath, eyes roaming faces as they smile shyly at each other. 

Harry leans in to connect their lips this time, pulling Louis with him as he falls backwards to the ground, Louis hovering over him.

Harry doesn’t tolerate the separation for long, hooking one of his legs around Louis to pull their bodies flush together. Louis breaks their kiss on a groan as his cock connects with Harry’s through their clothes, instinctively rocking down to get more pressure.

Harry throws his head back to the ground, the most beautiful sounds escaping his open mouth as he grinds up against Louis. Louis latches on to his neck, drags his teeth across his skin and follows his fluttering pulse with his tongue. Harry full on whimpers when Louis starts to suck a bruise on to his collarbone, and its mere seconds before Louis feels Harry snake his hands around to Louis’ arse, rutting them harder against each other.

Louis can already feel the pleasure swirling in his gut, Harry making him feel in a way he never has. He can hear Harry whisper his name and blindly brings their lips back together, the kiss quick and filthy.

Pushing himself up on to his knees, he rolls his hips down in sync with Harry’s upwards thrusts, quickly creating a rhythm. What they lack in finesse they make up for with enthusiasm, both of them solely focused on the feel of each other. As their movements get more frantic, Harry’s hands find Louis’ hips, pulling him down hard as Harry’s mouth opens on a silent scream. Louis can feel Harry’s cock pulsing against his own as his back arches off the ground.

Louis lets him ride out his orgasm before he resumes movements, chasing his own. Harry pulls Louis back down to him and kisses him roughly, cupping his hand over Louis’ cock and rubbing steadily.

“C’mon, Lou,” he breathes into Louis’ mouth, his voice deeper than Louis’ ever heard it. Louis comes after a few strokes of Harry’s hand, burying his face in Harry’s neck as he shudders through it.

When his breathing returns to normal he drops a quick kiss to Harry’s neck before rolling himself off to the side. He can feel Harry’s gaze and doesn’t even have to look at him to know what he wants. He holds an arm out and Harry immediately curls into his side, weaving his limbs around him like ivy.

“I can’t believe we just came in our pants like bloody teenagers,” Harry huffs out a laugh and Louis can’t help but chuckle along with him. “Guess we should have done that a lot sooner, huh?”

Louis wants to provide a witty response; wants to banter and stay awake all night trading life stories and making Harry laugh. The fact that he wants to do that, though, is what scares him, so instead he shuts himself down, tries to put an end to whatever they just started.

“We should get some sleep. We need to at least try and make it back tomorrow.”

Harry’s body tenses against him and Louis can practically feel the smile leave his face. He doesn’t move away, though. Harry simply hums in response and tucks himself tighter against Louis’ side defiantly.

//////

Louis keeps his eyes shut as he wakes, all of his muscles screaming at him as the strain from the past few days finally starts to catch up with him. He takes a deep breath and startles when soft curls tickle his nose.

Louis clamps his eyes shut and tries to steady his breathing as the memories from last night come back to him. His heart thumps painfully when he remembers shutting Harry out afterwards.

While trying to steel himself for the day, he feels Harry move away from him abruptly and opens his eyes to find Harry scampering off for a wee. Louis gets himself up and starts packing their things, trying to think of something to say to fix what he broke last night.

When Harry returns, he takes his pack from Louis silently.

“Harry, look, last night…” Louis reaches out and places his hand on Harry’s arm, but Harry jerks away, his eyes only briefly meeting Louis’ angrily.

“No time for talking, Louis. We need to try and make it back today, right?” Louis physically recoils as Harry throws Louis’ words back in his face.

“Harry, I didn’t mean…”

“I’m going on. No need to waste any more time.” Harry interrupts him again and starts walking without waiting for a response, leaving Louis no choice but to follow along.

//////

Miraculously, they make it back to headquarters just under the wire. As they stumble out of the woods, they can just barely make out the estate looming before them in the fading sunlight. Harry glances down at his watch and actually smiles, shoulders relaxing as he lets out a sigh of relief.

“We made it, then?” Louis asks.

“Just barely, but yes. Only a couple hours left to spare. Now we just have to hope we aren’t the last ones back. We lost a bit of time…” Harry’s smile drops as he clears his throat, briefly glancing at Louis but not making eye contact.

“Look, Harry…”

“Later. We still need to actually get back to headquarters before we can call this a victory.” Harry doesn’t wait for a response, hitches his bag up on his shoulder and heads off towards the building. Louis follows along silently behind him.

“Ah, Harry and Louis. Welcome back, boys.” Nick greets them as they cross the threshold of the large, brick patio that adorns the back of the estate.

Glancing around, Louis sees some of the other recruits have already returned, seemingly waiting out the last few hours to see who is eliminated. Dotted around the patio, chatting and enjoying celebratory beverages, he finds Liam, Niall, Sophia, and Zayn.

Nick speaks again after making some notes in his ever present portfolio.

“While you are cutting it a little close, as you can see you are not the last to return. Ed and Zach have not yet arrived, so you can relax. You’ve officially passed this stage.”

They receive their congratulatory handshakes from Nick and then make their way over to the others while Nick waits for the last two at his station. Louis finds himself wrapped up in Niall’s arms before he can even say hello.

“Welcome home, lads. We were all hoping it would be you two!” Niall half shouts, half laughs in his ear, his enthusiasm infectious as always.

“So were we!” Louis laughs in response, accepting hugs from the rest of the group as well.

“When did you all get back?” Harry asks, accepting a drink from Sophia as he drops in to the closest seat. Louis follows suit, finally able to let the exhaustion settle in.

“Niall and I just got back a few hours ago,” Zayn comes to stand behind him as he answers, dropping a hand to his shoulder and squeezing lightly, before moving to sit in a chair opposite them. Louis doesn’t miss the way Harry’s eyes narrow as he takes in the gesture, his expression stormy as he looks back out to the woods to avoid Louis’ gaze.

“Liam and Sophia are the real survivalists here! They got back this _morning_ ,” Niall cackles as he continues. “Liam says Sophia barely let him sleep a wink! Guess you really cracked the whip out there, huh Soph?”

Sophia just laughs gently, “I think you got a little dramatic with your story telling, Liam.”

“Don’t worry, Liam, I believe you. Harold barely let me sleep either.” Louis jokes, trying to get Harry’s attention back on him.

“Yeah, well, got us a win didn’t it?” Harry smiles tightly as he stands up. “If you’ll excuse me,” Louis watches on as Harry leaves their group to join Nick, his real smile brightening his face as he starts a conversation with him.

Louis knows everyone is looking at him before he even turns back to face them.

“Um, so, something happen out there we need to know about?” Liam asks.

“Just a little tiff…in each others space too much I suppose,” Louis responds, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp. “Nothing we can’t work out.”

Louis just hopes he’s right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took me so long to get this updated...life was a lot more hectic last month than expected. The next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to get updated!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait, everyone! It's been much harder to find time to write than I expected! Being an adult is hard!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Louis thought he was the expert on avoiding his problems, but apparently Harry has him beat. Harry had hung around with Nick the rest of the evening until the fifth day officially came to an end with Ed and Zach never making it back to the estate.

Harry had slipped inside as soon as Nick called time, and by the time Louis and the rest of the gang made it back to the barracks, Harry was already tucked under his covers, earphones jammed in his ears, effectively shutting Louis out.

The next day had been much of the same. Nick informed them in the morning that they would be allowed one day to relax, recuperate from the previous week before being given their next test. Harry had spent the day with the group, although he was avoiding Louis like the plague.

He spoke to everyone except Louis, never even glanced in Louis’ direction. Every time Louis thought he could get Harry cornered and make him talk, Harry would slink off and attach himself to someone’s hip, normally Niall. Louis gave up around mid-day, letting Zayn’s mellow attitude ease his stress a bit. If Harry was still too upset to even talk about it, Louis wasn’t going to push it. Isn’t this what he wanted, anyway?

 ******

The following day gives Louis the break in Harry’s mood that he so desperately needs to get him to talk. Nick’s voice over the loudspeakers calls them out to the back lawn immediately after breakfast. Nick is waiting for them up on the balcony, watching as they fall in line in front of what looks like a stack of crates covered up by a giant tarp.

Louis’ attention wavers in and out while Nick gives what he’s sure is a rousing speech about teamwork; he is focused on the tarp, thinks he can hear noises coming from underneath. He is only more confused when Rory appears and pulls away the tarp to reveal six crates, each containing a puppy. Real, live, adorable puppies.

“Your dog will go wherever you go. Your job is to train it, take care of it. By the time these dogs are fully grown and trained, you will be too. If you’re still here, that is.” Louis hears as he tunes back in to Nick. “Everyone go pick your companion.”

Louis starts to rush towards the Doberman, knows there will probably be a fight over the strongest dog, but the pup on the end catches his eye. It’s a pug, its scrunched face watching Louis calmly with its big, watery eyes. Louis caves immediately and chooses that one instead. If anyone asks, he’ll just say he thought it was a bulldog or something.

He falls back in line and watches as Zayn and Liam fight over the Doberman and the German Shepherd. Glancing to his left, he sees that Sophia, Niall, and Harry have already made their choices easily. Sophia took the Collie, Niall the Golden Retriever, and Harry has a Poodle resting primly at his feet. Nick eventually intervenes, yelling at Liam and Zayn to pick a dog and get the hell back in line. Zayn ends up with the Doberman and Liam with the German Shepherd.

Louis listens as Nick goes over their training schedule for the next few days. There will be more target practice, more sparring lessons, and what sounds like a lot of running. Louis hates running. Unless he’s playing footie, why can’t they just play footie instead?

Nick also mentions that they will have to have their puppies with them every step of the way during training sessions from now on, only allowed to leave them behind when they’re being tested or sent out in the field. So, that should be fun. Louis can’t wait to attempt shooting a rifle and wrangling a pug at the same time.

They all stick around the back lawn when they are dismissed, given free time to get to know their puppies before training is to resume after lunch. Looking around, Harry already seems to have the easiest pup to deal with; his poodle is lying quietly by his side as he sifts through the supply bags that came with each pup. The other puppies are all wild, trying to pull their leashes free in order to explore the expanses of the lawn.

Louis lets his pug drag him around a bit, following his lead but keeping a tight grip on the leash. He doesn’t even realize that he was silently willing the dog to head in Harry’s direction until he actually does.

“So, what’ve you named him then?” Louis asks Harry as nonchalantly as possible as he comes up beside him, gently tugging his dog to a halt. Harry glances up at him, startled by his presence, but he doesn’t seem to be angry that it’s Louis. That's a good sign.

“It’s a girl…named her Gem, after my sister. She’s always wanted a poodle.” Harry responds softly, his eyes going back to the contents of his bag. It certainly doesn’t seem like an invitation for small talk, so Louis is about to leave when Harry speaks again.

“And yours?”

“Always wanted a pet to name after David Beckham, so I reckon that’ll be his name. Not quite manly enough to have earned David yet though…he’s just a little ball of fur right now, so I think I’ll call him Davie for a while.” Louis’ breath hitches slightly when he looks over to see Harry actually looking at him, a smile tugging at his lips, his eyes twinkling for the first time in days.

“You can’t just change his name whenever you feel like it, Lou.”

“Oi! I’m not changing it! He’s just going to have a little kid nickname, while he’s still a little kid!” Harry giggles as he lets Davie sniff at his hand, Gem watching on with disdain on his other side.

“I highly doubt David Beckham ever went by ‘Davie.’”

“Well Curly, when I meet him I’ll just have to ask and let you know.”

“Be sure that you do,” Harry smiles at him again, and Louis makes sure to return it. He isn’t able to continue the conversation, as Davie spots something god knows where that he just must investigate right this second, dragging Louis along behind him. Louis relishes in the sound of Harry’s goofy laughter trailing along behind him, though, and hopes that this was a first step in making things right.

******

They train every day, and as promised, they have to bring their pups with them every step of the way. Davie turns out to be a bloody menace. It started out the first day they were required to run timed laps around the estate; Davie had refused to move, forcing Louis to zip him up in his vest so he could continue moving, not wanting to come in last. He does that all the time now, caught on quick that Louis will always give in and end up carrying him.

He also loves to bark at the most inopportune times; like in the middle of their written exams when everyone’s trying to concentrate, or while they’re doing field tests and Louis is _supposed_ to be hidden in the bushes in his camouflage. The damn dog is lucky he’s cute.

The other dogs seem to be a little less unruly, at least from what Louis sees. They are always quiet and obey their commands without any attitude. Well, almost everyone’s. Sophia’s collie wasn’t quite the burden that Davie is, but she had gotten so frustrated after their third day with the dogs, when they were at target practice and she kept missing the target because the dog kept running around and bumping into her legs. She refused to bring the dog to any of their training exercises after that, even when reprimanded by Nick. Nick had given her about two more days to bring the dog back out, and when she continued to refuse, she had been sent home. Louis still isn’t sure if she did it on purpose; he never got that close to her, but she always seemed like her heart wasn’t really in it after they lost Eleanor.

The best thing to come of the dogs was that it cured Harry of his bad mood. Ever since Harry finally spoke to him again the day they chose their puppies, he and Harry have seemed to be back to normal. Or at least, they’re getting there. Harry still tends to avoid spending much alone time with him, but he’s started treating him like his friend again, and that’s really all Louis can ask for.

******

Although Nick always tells them to expect the next big test “any day now”, they don’t get another one until about a month after Sophia is dismissed. They know something’s up when Nick gathers them after breakfast and instructs them to take their dogs to the kennels and meet out front.

They are greeted out front by two large black SUVs and their mentors, who gift them with blindfolds and noise canceling headsets before they are shoved in to the cars. Louis has no idea where they are heading, and the bumps in the road keep trying to toss him in to Liam’s lap, which, no thank you.

After a short time in the car, they are pulled out again and walked a ways outside. Louis can’t hear anything thanks to the headset, but it is awfully windy wherever they are. They are walked up a ramp and then his headset and blindfold are removed and he finds himself inside a cargo plane. All five of them are there, Liam and Niall are to his left and Zayn and Harry are across from him. He can see the panic in Harry’s eyes already; he knows that Harry is deathly afraid of flying.

They are handed their skydiving suits and helmets and told to suit up, strap in, and await further instructions from Nick over their com system. After they are all strapped in, the plane begins taxing for take off, with no word yet from Nick.

Louis watches as Harry gets more and more pale the closer they get to take off. He unstraps himself from his seat and moves to take the seat next to Harry, buckling in and grabbing Harry’s hand, squeezing until Harry looks at him.

“You need to breathe, Harold,” Louis states, smiling at him assuredly. Harry doesn’t smile back, but his nostrils flare as he starts taking deeper breaths.

“I hate flying, Lou.” Harry's voice is tight, he sounds like he’s going to cry any second now. Louis squeezes his hand again.

“I know you do, but I’m right here, okay? We’ll be fine.” Harry simply nods, squeezes Louis’ hand back as he tries to steady his breathing, eyes closed as the plane takes off.

They don’t hear anything from Nick until they’ve been in the air for about twenty minutes. His static surrounded voice comes through in their ears, informing them that in five minutes they will be instructed to jump out of the plane over the headquarters estate. A target has been placed on the back lawn, and their job is to land on it. Any of them that fails to do so will be sent home.

Harry and Louis are at the back of the plane, putting them first in line to jump when the cargo door opens. Louis gets ready to jump, but just before he leaps he feels Harry’s hand grab his again, pulling him back inside.

“I can’t, Louis. I can’t do it!” Harry’s breathing has become erratic again, his body shaking as he backs away from the door. Liam, Niall, and Zayn push around them, disappearing into the open sky below them.

“Harry, we have to jump now or we’ll miss the target.” Louis grabs his other hand, tries to maintain eye contact.

“I can’t!” Harry is crying now, gripping Louis’ hand for dear life.

“We’re not going home because of this, Harry. We survived that bloody trek through the woods; we can jump out of a plane. We have parachutes, we’ll be fine. You can hold my hand the whole time if you want.” Louis starts to move them back towards the door as he speaks.

“Promise?” Harry slows his breathing, grip loosening slightly. Louis just smiles at him and lets himself fall through the open door, pulling Harry along after him.

They freefall and quickly catch up with the other three, all of them smiling and laughing, the adrenaline coursing through their veins. As promised, he hasn’t let go of Harry’s hand, even though he seems to have calmed down significantly.

Their bubble is burst shortly after, when Nick comes back over their com.

“Here’s the real test, boys. You didn’t think it would be this easy, did you? Anyone can use their radar to hit a target. Now let’s see if you can do it when one of you doesn’t have a parachute.”

The words are barely out of Nick’s mouth before Zayn pulls his chute way too early in a panic, effectively eliminating himself. Louis starts shouting out instructions before more chaos can erupt.

“Liam! Grab hold of Niall, I’ve got Harry. We’ll pull our chutes in turns, that way if someone doesn’t have one they can keep hold of the other person!” Liam and Niall grab on to each other and Louis grabs Harry’s other hand.

“Niall, go!” Louis calls when Nick informs them they’ve reached the correct altitude to start gliding to hit the target. Niall’s chute opens and he is jerked away from Liam, who immediately panics and pulls his as well, letting out a sigh of relief when his opens.

Louis looks up to Harry who is watching him with terror in his eyes.

“It’s okay, Harry. One of us has a chute, we’re going to be fine.”

Nick comes back on the com, his voice urgent. “Boys! You’re getting too low! You have 30 seconds to pull that chute or you’re both dead!”

Louis wraps his legs around Harry’s waist and grips his hand tighter, feeling Harry shaking. He reaches around with his other hand, just as Nick screams at them again that they’re too low, and pulls Harry’s cord, hanging on as Harry’s chute opens and jerks them both up.

They were _way_ too low; they’re not slowing down quickly enough. He feels Harry wrap his arms around his neck and hears him whispering his name over and over again. Louis’ mind goes blank as they fall, watching the ground come closer and closer. They’ve slowed down a bit, but it’s not enough. The impact is going to hurt. As they get to the ground, Louis makes sure he’s wrapped around Harry, shifting his body weight so that he takes most of the impact when they hit the ground.

Miraculously, they land right on the target, although the force of the landing sends them tumbling roughly several feet across the lawn, pain jolting through Louis' back. They are still wrapped around each other as they come to a stop, both of them gasping for breath.

“You, Mr. Tomlinson, are an idiot,” Nick states as he comes in to view above them, “a very lucky idiot. You and Mr. Styles are still in. I’m not sure how you managed to land on that target, and alive at that, but good job.” He gives them a small smile before turning to the other boys who are gathered behind him.

“Mr. Payne, you hit the target as well, good job. Horan and Malik, unfortunately, this is the end for you. Go retrieve your things, the cars will be waiting for you out front.”

Louis jumps up and runs to catch Nick before he disappears back inside, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at him, anger coursing through him.

“What the bloody hell was that, Nick? I could have been killed! How could you let me jump out of a plane without a fucking parachute?”

“That, boy, was a test,” Nick frowns as he pulls his arm out of Louis’ grasp. “This is a dangerous job you’re training for, if you have a problem with the possibility of being killed in action, then I suggest you quit now.” Nick makes to leave, but turns back around at the last second.

“I also suggest you get rid of that chip on your shoulder. No one here is out to get you.” He reaches out and pulls Louis’ cord on his suit, opening his chute. Louis shouts, shocked, as he is jerked back to the ground by the motion.

“Dinner is in an hour, boys. I’ll see you in the mess hall!” Nick calls behind him as he heads inside. Louis just shoots Harry and Liam a disgruntled glare and a middle finger when they break out in laughter.

******

Louis is on his way back to the barracks after dinner when Harry appears, grabbing him by the arm and silently dragging him to a corner away from the main flow of foot traffic, darkened slightly by the blown light bulb above them.

Harry stays silent, his eyes searching Louis’ like he’s looking for an answer to a question Louis doesn’t even know he’s been asked.

“Um...Harry?” Louis keeps his voice at a whisper, doesn’t want to break whatever spell Harry’s under. Harry keeps his eyes on Louis’ as he takes a few steps forward, forcing Louis backwards until he is pressed in to the wall.

“I don’t understand you, Louis, but I wanted to say thank you,” Harry finally speaks, his voice soft, eyes finally leaving Louis to roam over his face. Louis’ face scrunches up in confusion.

“What? Thank me for what?”

“For today, for…calming me down. You always make sure my head stays in the game. Since the first day you just, it’s like you know exactly what I need to hear, you’ve been there for me whenever I’ve needed reassurance and I just…I appreciate it.”

“Haz, you don’t have to thank me for that. That’s what friends do.”

"Is that what we are?” Harry asks, eyes snapping back up to his. 

Louis is about to respond when Harry interrupts, whispering like he’s scared to say the words out loud. “I feel like we’re more than that, Lou. I know _I_ feel more than that, and whenever I think that maybe you do too, you act like a complete arse and I just…I don’t know what’s really going on here and I need to know.”

Louis knew they would have to have this conversation eventually, after what happened in the woods, but he feels the panic begin to creep up again anyway. He knows how he feels about Harry, but that’s what scares him, and he doesn’t like being scared. Louis stays silent long enough that Harry takes it as a bad sign, frowning as he starts to back away.

“Harry, wait,” Louis grabs his hand, tugs him closer again. “I don’t…bloody hell, I don’t know what you want me to say” Louis sighs, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration.

“I want you to tell me how you feel, Louis. It’s not that hard.”

“It is for me. I don’t…emotions aren't one of my strengths. I'm sure you've noticed that by now.”

Harry’s mouth pulls up at the sides, but the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. Louis hates his fake smiles, hates even more being the reason for them.

“Then lie to me.”

“What?”

“Just…tell me a lie. If you can’t make yourself say out loud how you feel, then tell me the opposite.” Harry’s eyes are pleading with him, begging for an answer.

“I don’t want anything more with you,” the words burn Louis’ throat on the way out; even knowing that Harry knows they’re a lie. He wants so badly to be able to actually tell Harry that he wants him, that he’s never felt this strongly about anyone before, he just can't get the words out.

“You don’t?” Harry leans in to him a bit, his breath fanning across Louis’ face as a smirk takes over his features.

“I don’t. Don’t care about you at all. Just a warm body to get off with in the woods, wouldn’t ever want to repeat that.” Harry’s eyes are twinkling now, his dimples popping as he deciphers everything Louis is saying.

“So you would be very upset if I were to kiss you right now?” Harry is whispering again, his body flush against Louis as he leans in, his thumb coming up to trace along Louis’ jaw line.

“So very upset,” Louis sighs out the words, lets his eyes slip closed as he closes the gap between them himself.

The kiss is much more intimate than the first one they shared; soft and unhurried. There are no fireworks, but Louis thinks that kissing Harry just feels _right_. Like this is what they were supposed to be doing all along.

He doesn’t know how long they carry on with the lazy slide of lips against each other, but the dam begins to break when he lifts a hand to tangle in Harry’s curls. Harry practically purrs when Louis tightens his grip, so Louis pulls him tighter against his body, tilts his head just slightly to deepen the kiss. Harry parts his lips in response, running his tongue along the seam of Louis’ until Louis lets him in.

With the first touch of their tongues, Louis groans, his other arm coming to wrap around Harry’s waist, fingers dipping slightly below his waistband. Their kisses become more frantic, teeth clashing as they try to take everything the other is willing to give.

Harry pulls away first to catch his breath, immediately latching on to Louis’ neck instead, teeth sinking in to the skin just below his ear. Louis whimpers, hand tightening in Harry’s hair as his hips roll up involuntarily, seeking some sort of friction. Louis feels Harry’s hand fumbling around the front of his jeans, scrambling to get them undone. He lets his head fall forward on to Harry’s shoulder when Harry slides his hands into his pants, fingertips tracing the hard line of his cock.

A throat clears behind them. Louis forgets how close he is to the wall, cracking his head on it behind him as he tries to jerk away from Harry. He looks over and catches Nick’s gaze, knows there’s no denying what’s going on here. They are both wrecked already, flushed, lips puffy and shining with spit, Louis’ jeans hanging open dramatically. It’s _definitely_ what it looks like.

Oh well, Louis thinks. With Harry pressed in to his side, hand gripping his own, at least they’re going down together.

 


End file.
